


It's For Science, I Swear

by korns



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Asexual Ishigami Senkuu, Chatting & Messaging, Drunken Shenanigans, Gaming, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, Memes, Nude Modeling, Sexual Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:49:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26140648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/korns/pseuds/korns
Summary: Senku sucks at drawing, but for his anatomy lecture, he'll need to be able to illustrate accurately.The solution: Enroll in a figure drawing course.The problem: He regrets telling his friends about it.
Relationships: Ogawa Yuzuriha/Ooki Taiju
Comments: 12
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Wednesday,** 12:16 AM  
**SENKU:**  
Oh my stars I just saw the sexiest thing  
  


**Thursday,** 7:46 AM  
**CHROME:**  
You know I hate it when you use that phrase. Why do you use that phrase  
  
**CHROME:**  
Also?? WHO WAS SHE?? What did she look like??  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Oh my stars”?  
  
**CHROME:**  
Yeah it makes you sound like you’re clutching your pearls  
  
**CHROME:**  
ANSWER THE QUESTION DAMMIT WHAT WAS SHE LIKE What did she look like??  
  
**SENKU:**  
She?  
  
**SENKU:**  
I’m convinced we’re in two different lanes right now  
  
**CHROME:**  
You said something about someone being sexy and I was alarmed  
  
**SENKU:**  
I said no such thing  
  
**SENKU:**  
I was just gonna say I just left the new observatory on campus that’s still under construction  
  
**CHROME:**  
[Screenshot of Senku’s first text]  
  
**SENKU:**  
Yeah and it was the sexiest thing ever  
  
**CHROME:**  
I’m so disappointed  
  
**CHROME:**  
I have no words  
  
**SENKU:**  
I figured you’d want to know since I know you were interested in going  
  
**CHROME:**  
😱  
  
**CHROME:**  
Does this mean you can get me in??  
  
**SENKU:**  
No  
  
**CHROME:**  
😩 Then why did you tell me??  
  
**CHROME:**  
Are you trying to make me jealous?? Cuz it’s working 😤  
  
**SENKU:**  
I took a video  
  
**CHROME:**  
SHOW ME  
  
**SENKU:**  
The file’s too powerful for this mode of communication  
  
**SENKU:**  
Are you at the dorms?  
  
**CHROME:**  
Yessss come to me, my child, I’ll swipe you into the dining hall  
  
**SENKU:**  
You read my mind  
  
**CHROME:**  
Ok but you need to tell me something  
  
**SENKU:**  
That depends  
  
**CHROME:**  
Ok  
  
**CHROME:**  
What’s the chemical y’all used last week that could potentially disintegrate a human body  
  
**CHROME:**  
Asking for a friend  
  
**SENKU:**  
O that’s easy. Toluene.  
  
**SENKU:**  
Wait what did you need that for?  
  
**SENKU:**  
It's complicated you can't just I mean sulfuric acid would be easier??  
  
**SENKU:**  
Chrome?

“I can’t believe you went! Without _me!_ ”

“They wouldn’t have let you in even if I asked,” Senku said as they shuffled one-by-one down the line of students in the dining hall. He grabbed a plate off of the counter and whisked it into a broad gesture, saying, “And it wasn’t like there was much to look at aside from the documents on the walls. They telescope wasn’t even in the room.”

Chrome was still moaning and groaning until that point when he let out a particularly pitiful cry of disappointment, saying, “Then what was the _video for?_ I bet you just wanted me to buy lunch for you.”

“You read my mind once again,” he said, and couldn’t help but grin when Chrome glared at him.

The guy couldn’t keep his angry facade up for long, though, and with a dejected kick to the tiles, eyes on the ground, he asked, “So what was on the documents?”

The observatory was already an existing part of their university, but in recent years, it had been under construction. It was out of commission through the entirity of Senku’s undergrad _and then some_ , and some days, he wanted to bust down the door and finish the work himself. Not that… that was in the scope of his program or anything. He blamed it on his own impatience and ultimately knew that, given time, he’d get to see the finished product.

He just hoped he wouldn’t have to be an alum to wait and see it.

Senku talked all the way through the line as they filled their plates and loitered around the soda dispensers while Chrome filled up a glass, staring in fascination as Senku talked.

Senku was in the middle of saying, “—but before the university standardized the system, most places used some form of… local solar time. So they’d keep one clock to—” when the soda spilled over the rim of Chrome’s cup.

Chrome yelped, sloshing Dr. Pepper over the edge. “Shit! I mean—Sorry, I was distracted.”

“Clearly,” he said, swiping a handful of napkins from the dispenser.

“Is that why clocks are kept on steeples and towers and… whatever else?” he asked as took the napkins and started to mop up the mess.

Senku shrugged, glancing off at the tables of sleep-deprived college kids. “The papers they had framed didn’t mention that specifically, but I’m almost ten _billion_ percent positive that’s it.”

“I don’t know why I never thought to wonder, like… why are clocks on towers? I always just assumed there were clocks elsewhere, you know? Like… didn’t watches exist?”

“Yeah, but they needed a reference to make sure their watches were correct. And what better place than the fucking… 100 meter tall religious edifice at the center of town? Point being: A standard time system was created here for trains and shit and that slaps.”

“Are you seriously giving a lecture during lunch? Here? Right in front of my salad?” a familiar voice drawled from behind.

Senku couldn’t quite tell if the way he sighed had something to do with how exhausted he was, or if it had everything to do with Gen Asagiri sitting at a nearby booth listening to them talk about _university history_. Senku must have had the worst timing when it came to Gen.

Senku turned as Chrome pursed his lips, soda clean and ready for transport. Gen raised an eyebrow at him.

“I swear I’m not giving a lecture every second of every day,” he said.

“That’s hard to believe when every time I see you… you’re giving a lecture. Huh, it’s almost like you’re only capable of mansplaining every little thing,” Gen said, and he grinned the second Senku laughed.

 _Of course Gen would equate mansplaining with a lecture_ , he thought.

“We aren’t sitting by him, are we?” Chrome whispered, and given the echo in the room, Gen wasn’t likely to hear.

Senku glanced at Chrome as he walked past towards Gen’s table. “Just for, like, sixteen minutes of your life,” he whispered in passing.

“Make that thirty-two if you combine _both_ of our lives being on the line right now,” Chrome whined, but followed as Gen gestured with a flourish to the empty spots at his table.

As they sat, Gen perched his hand under his chin and said, “You know, it’s funny seeing a grad student here.”

“You’re older than I am. It’s not that weird,” Senku said.

“Are you really?” Chrome gasped, and Gen gave him the stink eye. “You look like you’re twelve! Wait—sorry, that was rude.”

Senku slapped a hand over his face. This lunch was branded as a disaster the second he heard Gen talk, but in all honesty, he was more curious to see what that disaster entailed than to avoid it altogether.

Gen pointed to Chrome, looked at Senku, and said, “What are you doing with one of your students?”

Senku opened his mouth and realized immediately that this was a trap just to prove Gen right. He sighed and said, “I got a tour of the new observatory, so we were just going to look at the pictures I took last night.”

“Are you even capable of being interesting?”

“Hey! Astronomy _is_ interesting.”

“Surprise! Not everyone’s in astrophysics like the two of you,” Gen said, and Chrome slumped back in his eat with yet another distressed groan as Senku busied himself with flipping through his photos to find the Mother Of All Photos: the empty observatory, before the telescope was even assembled.

He took half a second to appreciate the view before turning it over to Gen and, likewise, Chrome. Chrome lurched forward to pull Senku’s hand closer by the wrist, his eyes wide and fascinated by the sight. Senku grinned as a sliver of an actual human emotion graced Gen’s face.

Gen’s normally impassive eyes became… more alert. Eventually, Gen sat back, crossed his arms, and admitted, “Damn… that’s pretty cool.”

“Fucking _told you_ ,” Chrome said, jabbing a finger at Gen, who swatted his hand away immediately. Chrome went back to marveling at the picture, all but lying across the table to hold Senku’s phone with both his hands as if Senku was incapable of holding it himself. “It’s so cool! _Ugh_ , I’m gonna sneak in there one of these days with enough food and water to last me a week. See how long it takes security to notice.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Senku said. He gave his phone a tug, but it took two to successfully snatch it from Chrome’s grubby hands. He squinted at Chrome for a second before going back to searching for the video. “And, for the record, it _was_ cool. No half-assed ‘pretty’ about it, thank you very much.”

“ _Ugh,_ I just want to, like…” Chrome physically grasped for the words in the air while Gen rose an uncertain eyebrow in his direction, half-scooting away. At last, Chrome sighed and folded his arms on the table. “Like… lay naked on the observatory floor and become one with it.”

“I could get some toluene—or even better, sulfuric acid, and we could melt your body _into the floor_ ,” Senku started, only to be finished by Gen saying, “Yeah, him and the rest of the building.”

Senku took one bite of his food before squinting at Chrome, who had put his focus entirely on his soda. “Wait, why did you need to know about toluene?”

“Oh, no reason,” Chrome sighed, and the low drone of his voice was suspicious to say the least. He perked up quick, though. “Oh! That reminds me!”

“What could that _possibly_ remind you of?” Gen started, only to be interrupted by Chrome putting both hands to the sky and saying, “I’ve made the bold decision to take anatomy next semester.”

Gen stared at him like he grew a third eye. He then looked to Senku as a slow, amused grin spread across the guy’s lips.

Chrome clenched his fists and thrust them down, saying, “I know I don’t have to take it for a while, but I heard the best professor for the course is retiring next year and I _need_ to pass that class. And I know you were thinking about taking anatomy next semester, so we should be in the same class together!”

Gen looked like he was halfway to his grave. Cause of death: boredom.

“We’re already in the same class,” Senku said, and before Chrome could scream about it, he added, “I signed up nearly a month ago for that professor.”

They high-fived on it. Shortly thereafter, they went over the rest of Chrome’s schedule. Chrome was a sophomore in the astrophysics program which was precisely the reason why they knew each other. Mostly, though, Senku could thank Chrome’s stupidly insistent curiosity for that. There was an odd lull period between freshmen year and junior year astrophysics majors. Freshmen who just wanted to get general education requirements out of their way were the ones struggling the most in the introductory courses. Sophomore year was the happy medium between _that_ … and certain disaster in 4000-level quantum theory of photon emissions, or principles of energy transfer by radiation, or, alternatively, the most exciting of—

“You’re drooling,” Gen said.

“I’m not falling for that,” Senku said, but he checked anyway, and Gen laughed. 

“What else are you taking?” Chrome asked, but they had already gone over Senku’s schedule, which was the cookie-cutter version of every other astrophysics grad student’s program in his year.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t take anatomy, or any other undergrad course.

“I took anatomy in high school, but I couldn’t draw for shit, so I’m considering taking a figure drawing course…” Senku confessed, and intrigue sparked to life in Gen’s eyes.

“Oh? Do tell,” Gen said.

“I’m sure you can draw—I mean… you kind of suck at drawing circles on the whiteboard during class…” Chrome hummed, pursing his lips and glaring off to the side. He ducked down to his backpack and fetched out a notebook.

“It’s easier to just draw during lecture so I don’t have to go back and print shit out and paste it in,” Senku said. “Overall: Saving time.”

“And money! Because printing,” Chrome said, still hunting down a pen.

“Yeah, and however many hundreds of dollars that course is gonna cost,” Gen said. He snatched the pen from Chrome’s hand and slapped it in front of Senku. “Draw a skull.”

“Just… from memory?” Senku said.

“No, that’s morbid,” Chrome said, frowning at Gen. “Draw me! Like one of your French girls.” He struck a pose, and Senku sighed. It didn’t seem very time efficient, but a skull was a more manageable task.

Or so he thought.

Gen and Chrome observed with patient, wide eyes until Senku turned the page around with a pained grimace. He put the pen down.

Chrome whispered, “Incredible…” He reached for the notebook and held it up to his face.“It’s…” he started, holding it to his face. He turned it over for Senku to see and pointed to the skull. “It looks like a deformed loaf of bread. See? The two dots are the mold and the teeth are where someone bit out of it.”

Gen burst into laughter. Senku scowled at them both as the laughter spread like a contagion to Chrome, and soon, they were both crying while Senku’s eye twitched. Sure, he found it _amusing_ how godawful he was at drawing, but it didn’t change the fact that it was _laughable_.

Senku’s grin was deadly as he folded his arms, shoulders tight, and said, “Well, _anyway_ … based off of this conversation, it’ll be worth the money.”

“I’d _pay_ to watch you draw in that class,” Gen said.

“Wow that gives me _no_ confidence whatsoever,” Senku said with a fake smile. Gen returned it gladly, which just succeeded in making Senku laugh. “Whatever. By the end of next semester, I’ll be fucking Michelangelo.”

“You’ll be _fucking_ Michelangelo? Wow, I didn’t know he was alive,” Gen said.

“I hate you eight percent more than I did at the start of this conversation,” Senku said.

“What are we at now?”

“Thirty-seven percent.”

“Always room for improvement,” Chrome offered.

Gen rolled his eyes as he pushed to his feet, empty plate in hand. “By the end of next semester, we’ll be at one-hundred percent.”

“A man can only dream,” Chrome sighed, and it earned him a flick to the side of the head. Chrome yelped and rubbed the spot.

“I’ll see you two nerds later,” Gen said with a cheeky wave and walked off.

Senku watched him go before sliding his gaze over to Chrome, who checked his watch. Impressed, Chrome said, “Wow, sixteen minutes. You were right.”

**Saturday,** 9:51 AM  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Senku could you do me a favor?  
  
**SENKU:**  
Depends on the favor  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Taiju has been majorly depressed ever since you left 🥺  
  
**SENKU:**  
I’ve literally been gone for two hours  
  
**SENKU:**  
and twenty-six minutes  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t “announce your departure” or whatever whenever you leave for holiday  
  
**SENKU:**  
That was the plan but I miscalculated  
  
**SENKU:**  
He wasn’t supposed to be at the apartment this morning  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
What do you mean??  
  
**SENKU:**  
He usually gets back from your place at 7:30 so I thought I had time  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
He left at 7:20!!  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
So you’re telling me he SPRINTED across campus  
  
**SENKU:**  
No, I’m saying he booked it on one of those electric scooters across campus  
  
**SENKU:**  
It was like The Shining. I left the apartment with my suitcase and he was on the other end of the hallway  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
🤭  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Then what  
  
**SENKU:**  
I ran  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
He’s like a dog. He senses when his owner is about to leave for holiday  
  
**SENKU:**  
Please never describe me as Taiju’s owner ever again, I beg you  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
[Screenshot of Senku’s name on Yuzuriha’s phone. It says “Taiju’s Master”.]  
  
**SENKU:**  
That’s even worse  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Senkuuuu 😩  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Plz fix this 😭 Try to cheer him up a bit!  
  
**SENKU:**  
Ok please hold  
  


**Saturday,** 10:00 AM  
**SENKU:**  
Hey  
  
**TAIJU:**  
SENKU I MISS YOU  
  
**SENKU:**  
I’ve been gone for two and a half hours  
  
**SENKU:**  
At this point, this is no different than when we both have classes  
  
**TAIJU:**  
BUT YOUR SUITCASE IS GONE EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT  
  
**TAIJU:**  
WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK TO THE APARTMENT 😩  
  
**SENKU:**  
Relax I’ll be back January 2nd  
  
**TAIJU:**  
O that’s not so bad  
  
**SENKU:**  
How long did you THINK I’d be gone?  
  
**TAIJU:**  
I thought you wouldn’t be back till the start of the semester 😩  
  
**SENKU:**  
Tell ya what  
  
**SENKU:**  
I’ll install Valorant on my dad’s pc tonight  
  
**TAIJU:**  
yOU’D DO THAT???  
  
**TAIJU:**  
FOR ME?!  
  
**SENKU:**  
Jesus christ  
  
**SENKU:**  
I mean sure dude  
  
**TAIJU:**  
best friend.  
  
**SENKU:**  
Yeah man sure  
  
**TAIJU:**  
say it back.  
  
**SENKU:**  
Did you intentionally turn off auto-caps for this?  
  
**TAIJU:**  
SAY IT BACK  
  
**SENKU:**  
Best friend.  
  
**TAIJU:**  
😀  
  


**Saturday,** 10:09 AM  
**SENKU:**  
Did it work  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Wonders 🥰  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Thanks!  
  
**SENKU:**  
No problem  
  



	2. Saturdays-Thursdays Are For The Boys

  
**SENKU:**  
Senku  
  
**CHROME:**  
Chrome  
  
**TAIJU:**  
Taiju  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Yuzuriha  
  


**Monday,** 1:14 PM  
**SENKU:**  
Taiju... I got Minecraft instead  
  
**TAIJU:**  
SENKU WHY  
  
**TAIJU:**  
WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE VALORANT BUDDIES  
  
**SENKU:**  
I think Minecraft is a better use of our time  
  
**TAIJU:**  
In what way  
  
**SENKU:**  
We can be survival buddies instead  
  
**TAIJU:**  
🥺SENKUUUU🥺  
  
**SENKU:**  
And build the world from the ground up with the sky factory mod so we can build a spacecraft and land on the moon  
  
**TAIJU:**  
I knew there was something nefarious about this  
  
**TAIJU:**  
I’m in  
  
**SENKU:**  
Then hop on the server awaits  
  
**TAIJU:**  
OKAY HERE I GO  
  


Snapchat from senkuwu

**Monday,** 1:32 PM  
**SENKU:**  
[Snapchat is a video of Senku recording his monitor where Taiju and him are stuck on top of a tree in the middle of the sky while Taiju’s screaming over the phone, “HOW DO WE GET DOWN FROM HERE” while Senku laughs maniacally in the background]  
  
**CHROME:**  
You’re playing Minecraft?! WITHOUT ME?????  
  
**SENKU:**  
I’ll send you the address to the server  
  
**CHROME:**  
You better 😤  
  
**CHROME:**  
Can’t believe you do these things without me knowing full well I’m a hoe for minecraft  
  
**SENKU:**  
Chrome  
  
**CHROME:**  
Yes 😤  
  
**SENKU:**  
What makes you think I forgot you liked minecraft  
  
**CHROME:**  
Wait  
  
**CHROME:**  
DID YOU BUY MINECRAFT?? FOR ME??  
  
**CHROME:**  
SENKU YOU DIDN’T  
  
**CHROME:**  
DID YOU??  
  
**SENKU:**  
Stop it  
  
**CHROME:**  
Uwu oohoo senkuuuu you miss me don’t yoooou  
  
**CHROME:**  
Wait send me the address  
  
**CHROME:**  
Senku??!  
  
**CHROME:**  
I TAKE IT BACK SEND ME THE IP ADDRESS  
  


**Thursday,** 8:34 AM  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Have you talked to Taiju at all?? I’m a little worried  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Just a little. Like, I’m not super concerned or anything  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
He just hasn’t been super responsive over text and he hasn’t Initiated Contact, so to speak  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Do you think he’s mad at me? Maybe he found out about us conspiring over your escape tactic last Saturday  
  
**SENKU:**  
I’m talking to him right now  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Really??  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Does he sound upset??  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Has he been eating  
  
**SENKU:**  
He’s eating cheetos right now he’s fine  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Oh  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
That’s it??  
  
**SENKU:**  
I dunno he ordered Jimmy Johns yesterday I think he got two foot longs or something  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Oh  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Wait how do you know that??  
  
**SENKU:**  
[Screenshot of a Discord call duration lasting 57 hours and 21 minutes]  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
What.  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
I’m-  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
You both are monsters  
  
**SENKU:**  
We have every type of chicken there is.  
  
**SENKU:**  
Could a monster do that?  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Copious amounts of chickens doesn’t absolve you from being a monster  
  
**SENKU:**  
I disagree  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
Well anyway I’m on my way to Taiju’s place to unplug his PC  
  
**SENKU:**  
I’d like to see you try  
  


**Thursday,** 8:58 AM  
**SENKU:**  
“Dude please tell me you never wound up getting that extra set of keys from Menards.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“I absolutely did.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“What’s this about?”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Did you give the keys to Yuzuriha?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Of course.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Jesus Christ—”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“I reiterate: What’s this about? And dude, I am now flush with those fourth level solar panels. My pockets are bulging with them.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Oh fuck yes, I’ve got the photovoltaic cells.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Hell yeah! Slap those puppies together!”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Careful—Careful—”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Wait, wait, wait. Maybe we shouldn’t do this hand-off by the ledge—”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“We’re far enough away. Just throw the damn solar panels already—”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Dude, no, you’re making me nervous. I’m sweating. Taiju—Why did you build the pathways like this? I hate it. I hate it so much.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“I’m conserving resources this way—”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“We’ve got so much dirt, dude. So much of it. We’re filthy with dirt, dude—”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Chrome, c’mon, I just need the solar panels.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Hoo, boy, I feel like I’m having a heart attack. You know how I am with heights, man.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“This isn’t real life, dude. We’ve already executed one rescue mission after Taiju fell with the obsidian.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“My bad.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Are you sure?”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“I’m ten billion percent positive this isn’t real life.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Okay, I’m gonna drop it then.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Drop it like it’s hot, drop it like it’s hot—Oh, shit…”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“I’M SORRY!”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Dude, it’s fine—”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“SENKU, SAY SOMETHING, DON’T JUST STAND THERE.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Is he AFK?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“I can’t believe it slid like that. I’ve never seen an item slide like that…”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Bro, we’ll make it through this.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“The level four solar panels…”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Bro, we’ll make it through this.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Okay, I’m back. I just had to scream a little, but we’re fine.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Oh, thank God.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“What I want to know… Is what’s the most difficult item to obtain in this?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“My love for you.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Bro…”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Dude, shut the fuck up—I can’t—I can’t put your love for me in an item frame.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“True. And you’ve already got it, bro.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Bro…!”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Oh, dude, that reminds me. Yuzuriha’s on her way to unplug your computer.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Is she really?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Yuzuriha… That’s your girlfriend, isn’t it?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Yeah, she’s amazing.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“That’s cute.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Did you tell her I was eating Cheetos?”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Maybe.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Shit… She hates it when I eat Cheetos. She’s just lookin’ out for me though, ya know? So I’m not too peeved about it. I’ll be right back.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“‘Kay.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Dude, that’s so cute.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“I guess.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Ugh, I want that. Like, imagine me, but with a girlfriend.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“I don’t know how to respond to this. I mean, cool, I guess?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Don’t you want someone checking in on you making sure you aren’t eating Cheetos?”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“I don’t know what my Cheeto consumption has to do with this.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“I’m just saying. Like, apply it to other things in life.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Like… making sure I don’t drink a gallon of coffee everyday?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Yeah, like tha—Wait, do you actually? That’s concerning. Are you okay?”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“It’s figurative.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Oh.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“—Or is it?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Don’t scare me like this!”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Ok, I’m back. Yuzuriha’s here!”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Oh my gosh hi.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Hi! Is Senku here?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Yeah that’s him, the one that looks like an evil scientist.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Hey.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Oh, wow, what’re you guys building?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“The new world!”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“It’s gonna be great.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“And then we’re going to space.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Hm. Sounds like fun. I’m in.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Really?”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“What happened to unplugging his PC, Yuzuriha?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Yeah, what happened to unplugging his PC, Yuzuriha?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“She’s not unplugging my PC, guys.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Wait, are you?”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“‘Course I wouldn’t, babe.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Aw, that’s so cute. Oh my God, Senku—”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Why are you making it sound like you want me to say shit like that?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“SENKU!”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“I can’t picture Senku ever saying ‘babe’. Ever.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Nah, he’d call me ‘babe’. Definitely.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Is that a challenge?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Don’t let him trick you—”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Just once. You’ll definitely say it. Ten bucks.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Fifty.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Are you seriously willing to bet fifty bucks on whether or not Senku can say the word ‘babe’ unironically?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“A noble quest.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“You know… I’ve thought about it, and I think I’ll bet you on that. Fifty.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Sixty.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Fifty-five.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Deal.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“It’s never gonna happen. Calling it now.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“I’d give it… a twenty percent success rate.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Where’s the faith?”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Okay, maybe twenty-five.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Aw! Senku…”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“This is literally what I deal with every day at the apartment.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Oh, relax.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Yeah, we could be worse.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“I’m not complaining.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Ugh. Yuzuriha.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Yes, what’s up?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“What do I have to do to get a girlfriend? Please, I beg you.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Be nice and have fun.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Yes, but I do both of those things.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Talk to girls?”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Yeah, that’s a start.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“He’s talking about someone specific.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Oh?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Who?!”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“No I’m not!”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“She’s in the same lab I TA for.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Ooh, that’s exciting! What’s her naaame—”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Ask her out already, dammit!”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“I-! I can’t just ask her out! And it’s not specific, I just—She’s in my lab group… And it’s coincidental that I went to the same high school as her—”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Coincidence, my ass.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“That’s so cute! So she’s a sophomore?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Junior, actually…”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Well, technically a sophomore. She took a gap year because—No, you know what? I don’t have to explain this to you guys—”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Tell us!”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Aw, yeah, I wanna help. What’s she like? What’s she majoring in?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“She’s…”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“She’s taking Electricity and Magnetism for ‘fun’.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Does that mean she’s not in physics?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“She’s taking the class to be with Chrome!”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“She isn’t—! She’s majoring in English, actually.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Aw, she’s using Electricity and Magnetism as an excuse to talk to you!”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“You need to ask her out!”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Y-Yeah right! The only reason she’s in my group is because her partners dropped out of the course—”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Yeah, and guess who pairs everyone up.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Oh my God, Senku! You’re a genius!”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Guilty.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“We’re supposed to be rebuilding the solar panels I dropped! We shouldn’t be talking about this—”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Chrome.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Y-Yes?”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Take your time. You might not be in the same class as her anymore… Since the new semester is starting… But we can still make it work!”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Yeah!”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“I don’t know… I mean, she doesn’t go out a whole lot so it’s not like I could randomly stumble into her. And her sister’s really protective…”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Ooh, she’s got a sister. Wait, you never told me her name.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Her name is Ruri. And her sister is Kohaku—Kohaku is, like… the most intimidating person I’ve ever met. Not gonna lie.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“How so?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“I mean, she got into the Olympic Trials for epee or whatever two years ago.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Incredible!”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“That’s impressive. Yeah, perhaps it’s best not to cross her…”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Wait what's 'ee-pee'”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“I believe it's pronounced épée. It's a type of fencing blade.”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Like that pepe meme?”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“I mean, I guess?”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“That's so fucking cool. Swords and shit.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Yeah.”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Yeah, but Kohaku’s part of that co-ed engineering fraternity too?”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Ooh yes, I’m familiar. ”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“And they host parties and shit and Ruri goes to some of them. So I think that’s my best chance of bumping into her again now that Electricity and Magnetism is done.”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Then we should go to one of Chi Epsilon’s parties!”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Yes! Let’s do it!”  
  
**CHROME:**  
“Really?”  
  
**YUZURIHA:**  
“Absolutely!”  
  
**TAIJU:**  
“Yeah! And Senku’s coming with us.”  
  
**SENKU:**  
“Shit.”  
  



	3. New Semester, New Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Senku and Chrome execute the first part of their Wingman Plan Of Destiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been listening to [bardcore tunes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2zpbcW-h-c) while writing all of this, and it shows lol.
> 
> Also, I changed Kohaku's sport.

**“W** hat do you think’s worse in a fight between two grown men: A backhand slap, forward slap, or a punch?” Taiju said, and for two silent seconds, Senku weighed the three options.

Within those two seconds, he developed a seventeen-page thesis in his head equipped with figures and references.

“Forward slap,” he said, and his eyes returned back to the task at hand: Work, otherwise known as a new TA position that took three quarters of holiday for Senku to agree to.

He wasn’t exactly thrilled to be working for a professor he was sort-of related to.

 _Damn you, Byakuya Ishigami_ , he thought, grimacing at the awkward tension at dinner one night when Ishigami offered him the job.

“Forward slap? Really?”

“Yeah, it’s obvious,” Senku explained. He gestured broadly, and the backdrop of their apartment living room faded into the lab he used to teach in. Taiju gasped in amazement as Senku started illustrating the situation at hand, saying, “If we categorize each option by pros and cons for each person involved, situational consequences, and a scale of my own design to calculate ego damage on the victim versus the ego boost of the attacker, I can safely say that the ego damage of a backhand slap is _lower_ than a punch or a backhand slap. With a punch, you get the added satisfaction of a _physical evidence_ , which the victim can boast about post-punch, which will likewise open up the conversation to ‘Trust me, the other guy looks worse.’ A backhand slap, however, is for berating someone. A disciplinary tool, so to speak, and while it damages the ego, it teaches a lesson.”

“Then where does the forward slap land on the ego spectrum?” Taiju asked, sitting himself on the ground, cross-legged, eyes wide.

Senku smacked his pen against the nonexistent whiteboard, where a cartoon image (drawn post-figure drawing class), would lie featuring someone being slapped with a full-frontal swing with a follow-through.

“The forward-slap is purely insulting. To slap another man leaves no physical reward—unless sexual, but fetishization of face-slapping or otherwise is an outlier, and won’t be covered in this essay—”

“Why can’t it be in the essay?”

“Taiju, I’m not discussing face-slapping with you today. We’ve been over this.”

“Really? When?” Yuzuriha asked from the kitchen where she was popping open three beers.

She passed one to Senku, who took a sip as Taiju said, “I asked him last month whether or not he’s been slapped or slapped someone.”

“And?” she said.

“He got slapped in middle school by some chick,” Taiju said, and Senku glared at him as Yuzuriha stared at him in horror.

“What did you do…?” she whispered.

“It was a long time ago,” Senku seethed, eyes closed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “But back to the ego spectrum—”

“Yes, of course,” Taiju said, and Yuzuriha stared at him, and then at Senku, who resumed the lecture.

“A forward-slap is the biggest sign of disrespect known to mankind,” Senku said.

“Whoa, whoa, wait—That’s a _major_ leap. That’s such a huge conclusion you’re coming to,” Yuzuriha said, so Senku amended himself, “A forward-slap is _allegedly_ the biggest sign of disrespect known to mankind. If you’re trying to teach a lesson… backhand.”

“But what if you do two quick forward-slaps in succession?” Taiju asked, which prompted Yuzuriha to cry, “What are you _planning to do?!_ ”

“So are we hypothetically discussing a situation… in which you pick one tactic in a fight?” Senku asked.

“That’s exactly what we’re discussing.”

Senku thought for a moment. This changed everything.

“I think if someone came at me… with _just_ forward-slaps, one after the other, using _both hands_ …” he started.

“My God, that’s a terrifying visual,” Yuzuriha hummed, intrigued. She cupped her hand over her chin.

“If you’re trying to smack someone down into immediate submission, then backhanding and punching would get the job done. They’d be incapacitated faster than forward-slapping. Forward-slapping is entirely for show at that point. You’re making a spectacle out of them,” Senku said, voice raising into an abrupt shout.

He turned to the nonexistent whiteboard, which ultimately faced him with the living room window overlooking campus. He put his hands on his hips and said, “In this case… it would be a power-move.”

“Incredible!” Taiju screamed just as Yuzuriha let out a nervous laugh and whispered, “I don’t understand what’s going on…”

Senku whipped around and pointed a finger at her. She startled with a yelp. “Have you ever slapped a man?” he asked.

“Wh-What kind of question is that?!” she cried. “I-I haven’t! To be honest, I think the majority of the population hasn’t slapped another person…”

“That’s a broad claim,” Senku said.

“I haven’t slapped a man,” Taiju said. “ _Yet_.”

Yuzuriha gave them each an unimpressed, unconvinced stare as she said, “So _you’re_ telling _me_ that you think over half of the population has slapped someone? _In the face?_ ”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m just saying it’s bold of you to assume that over half the population _hasn’t_ ,” Senku said.

She took a long swig of her beer and squinted at him as he and Taiju resumed their class on the ego spectrum. Senku, being the lightweight he was, was hit like a brick by the alcohol within half a beer, which devolved him into a raving idiot, his hands in his untamed hair, slurring his words, and laughing maniacally until he couldn’t talk straight. Taiju had significantly more tolerance, which only made the experience more amusing for him as they watched TikTok video compilations of people slapping each other in the face.

Yuzuriha retreated to the couch, a few feet away from where Senku and Taiju were losing their shit on the ground between the couch and the coffee table. She set her empty bottle aside and sighed, “I’m surrounded by idiots…”

By evening, the energy had died down. The buzz in Senku’s system that made him feel like a tuft of cotton rolling like tumbleweed across concrete died down and left him lounging with his head back against the couch cushion next to Yuzuriha’s foot. A video was still playing on his laptop, and Taiju was totally engrossed. Taiju had his legs crossed under the coffee table, his arms folded against the glass surface, and his chin resting on his hands in front of the screen.

Senku closed his eyes. The days ahead were filed away in his mind under lock and key. He couldn’t worry about the semester looming before him if he opened up each day one-by-one, as they were supposed to happen. Still, a crucial fact remained: That he had the insatiable habit of reading the final page in every novel before he even started it. For that reason, he had every syllabus memorized before the first class and knew _exactly_ how much work was due by May.

He swallowed hard and said, “I think this semester is going to kill me.”

“Not unless I kill it first,” Taiju hummed, voice muffled against his arm.

“You say that every semester,” Yuzuriha said.

“I’m serious this time.”

“You said that last semester, too.”

Senku blinked open one eye to glare at her. She offered a faint smile as she set her phone aside. She propped her elbow on the armrest and, with her chin perched on her closed fist, said, “So are we being dramatic now? Is that it?”

Senku kicked his feet out under the table and said, “I’m not being dramatic.” He meant to say it in a matter-of-fact sort of way, but it came out mumbled. _Definitely being dramatic_ , the rational, sober part of his brain whispered, and he told that part of his brain to shove it. It quipped back the reassuring knowledge that Sober Senku was fully capable of—and often _reveled in_ —handling a challenge.

Yuzuriha bent down and took his most recent bottle from his hand. He watched as it disappeared out of view next to the couch. “You always get so _depressing_ three bottles in,” she said.

“Being sad is a fact of life. Cannot avoid it. Better to just _expunge it_ from the system,” he said, flopping his arms out as he did. He dropped them to his sides. “Call it catharsis. The pre-semester detox.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine,” she said, and gave him a pat on the head. He whisked her hand away and readjusted his hair, as if it was presentable in the first place. “But please, do let it out.”

“My dad offered me a TA position for his Quantum Mechanics course,” he said, and the instant he did, Taiju turned to look at him. He could only imagine the look on Yuzuriha’s face. He closed his eyes again and rubbed a hand over his forehead. “I accepted.”

“You—” Yuzuriha started.

“Is that even allowed?” Taiju asked, voice cracking.

“I thought you said, and I quote, ‘You never want to ever in the history of forever work for your dad,’ end quote,” she said, dropping her voice half an octave with a hand on her hip, the other one raised with a finger extended that Senku lazily slapped down.

“I know what I said—”

“Then why’d you accept it?”

He inhaled slowly, steadily, as he heard Taiju and Yuzuriha hold their breaths. He clutched his fists and, through clenched teeth, seethed, “Because it’s the single best course I ever took in my undergrad.”

Taiju blinked at him just before sharing a concerned look with Yuzuriha. The instant he did, Senku exploded in a flurry, exclaiming, “Do you realize how _life changing_ Quantum Mech was and is for undergrads?! Before that course, I never fully comprehended the nuances of how the natural world functions. It’s an entire unseen _realm of existence_ literally at our fingertips and we can’t _see it_. It’s so fucking cool, and the fact that we’re able to even _attempt_ to account for the properties of molecules and atoms and their constituents and— _everyone_ should know about it!”

“Ah, I see,” Taiju hummed, not seeing at all.

Yuzuriha’s eyebrow twitched as she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, “All I’m gathering is that you’re just horny for quantum mechanics.”

“There’s so much to the field that we don’t understand, and the more people—”

“—You convert to your weird scientific fantasy—”

“It’s not a weird scientific fantasy—”

“Admit it, coward!”

“It’s not weird and it isn’t a fantasy—It’s a _theoretical utopia—_ ”

“ _Dystopia—_ ”

“Guys, stop fighting,” Taiju sobbed on the table, all but hugging Senku’s laptop.

Senku and Yuzuriha turned to him and interrupted each other, saying, “We aren’t fighting—!” Senku blinked as Yuzuriha snorted before giggling and collapsing on the couch.

* * *

“Why are we here again?” Senku asked, because he never, not once in his life, entered a gym with the intention of working out. If he was being honest, the last time he went to the university gym was for confidential reasons, of which he could not disclose in a court of law.

But now he was back, and trailing just behind a nervous, giddy mess: Chrome.

Chrome swiped his ID card over the sensor near the entrance. Senku followed suit as Chrome spun into the open foyer of the building, arms out, and said, “We’re going to watch fencing practice!”

“Fencing?” Senku didn’t remember agreeing to this. What he remembered had everything to do with the engineering fraternity: Specifically, getting _into_ the engineering fraternity house. Yuzuriha and Taiju (and by extension, Senku) promised to help Chrome out and as such, Senku found himself agreeing to shit like this the day before their first week of classes.

Their voices echoed down the corridor as Chrome followed the map on his phone that navigated the labyrinth of the gym compound. “Well, you know how I said Kohaku got into the Olympic Trials?” he said, as if Senku could forget that little detail.

“Yeah…”

“Well, she’s on the university fencing team, and I’m gonna corner her into inviting us to the party,” Chrome declared, punching his fist into his hand, but his phone was there, and he wound up punching his phone screen and crumbling because of it. “ _Ow_ , fuck, that hurt.”

“This sounds like it could go wrong in so many ways,” Senku said, but he was _so_ here for it.

Senku crossed his arms and slowed at one of the window panels peering into the practice room. Chrome shook out his hand as he came to a full stop in front of the glass, and the two of them stared in past the benches along the wall where water bottles were strewn along with extraneous equipment. Strips of tape lined the floors and while Chrome became enraptured by the row of fencers lined like soldiers in battle, Senku found his eyes traveling along the edge of the glass, to the window, wondering how the _Hell_ it was so soundproof. _Is this where my tuition’s going?_ he thought, tapping a finger to his chin. They couldn’t even hear the coach, or the metallic strike of the sabers against one another—

“Oh! There she is,” Chrome said, jabbing a finger to the glass.

Senku followed his attention to a girl walking into the room, her fencing mask tucked under one arm. Her blonde hair was swept back into a low ponytail—not that there was much to it. It was short, short enough for her bangs to fall from it and over her eyes as she talked briefly with the coach. Her posture was sharp, shoulders back, pin-straight.

She looked short, but perhaps it was just her stocky muscles, which only became prevalent after practice concluded fifteen minutes later.

“I don’t think this is a good idea—” Senku started, but Chrome shushed him as Kohaku approached the window to grab her bag and water bottle from the bench.

There, she paused. Slowly, her eyes turned up to look through the window to where Chrome was staring at her with that wide, eager smile of his. Kohaku stared right back, mouth ajar, before snapping her teeth shut, turning, and walking away. She left through the opposite door to the locker rooms.

“Told you,” Senku said.

Chrome groaned, head thrown back, as Kohaku’s teammates filed out of the room and into their corridor. The commotion nearly masked the sound of Chrome conspiring. “Then we just wait for her outside of the locker room.”

“No, no—We definitely shouldn’t—” Senku started, but Chrome would have none of it. He grabbed Senku by the arm and hauled him forward, down the hall, and weaving through the fencers leaving after practice.

They jogged up to the entrance of the women’s locker room just as Kohaku was leaving. She had her hands clasped over the cross-body strap of her equipment bag, and as she looked both ways, she did a double-take in their direction.

“Shit,” Kohaku hissed under her breath as Chrome leapt in the air, shrieking, “Kohaku! It’s me! Chrome! I wanted to ask you—”

Kohaku punched him in the gut at her first chance. Chrome crumbled instantly, tipping into a startled Senku who staggered under Chrome’s weight.

Kohaku leant back on her heels, brushing her hands together. “ _That_ is for being a fucking _asshole_ ,” she said.

Chrome swayed to his feet, clutching his stomach. “Yeah, I deserved that…” he grunted, grimacing.

Just based on the tone of Chrome’s voice when he first mentioned Kohaku, Senku came to the conclusion that there was _something afoot_. Still, he couldn’t pin it even as Kohaku pinned Chrome with a glare before her eyes ever reached Senku.

Senku swallowed hard. _Shit_ , he thought.

Kohaku stuck her foot into Chrome’s side and gave it a thorough shove of her heel. Chrome got down on all fours, yelping, as Kohaku dug her heel into his abdomen, hands on her hips, saying, “What, you need back-up to face me now, is that it? _Huh?_ ”

“That isn’t it!” Chrome whined.

Senku thrust both hands up in surrender the instant Kohaku glared at him again. “I can barely lift my backpack, let alone fight,” Senku said.

“That’s because your textbooks make it as dense as a blackhole,” Chrome said, only to squeak when Kohaku gave him one last jab before stepping back.

She huffed as she threw her hands back to her ponytail and tugged the band out. As she wrangled her hair into a high bun, she said, “Whatever. Only took you a _year and a half_ to face me, fucking coward.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re scary!” Chrome said, halfway to his feet before Kohaku knocked him down again. “Mercy! I surrender!” he cried as onlookers stared for all of two seconds before determining they didn’t, in fact, want to intervene and walked away.

“You think I’m _scary?!_ ” Kohaku snarled like a goddamn beast straight from one of Taiju’s video games. Senku and Chrome looked at each other as their shared braincell said, “ _Yikes_.”

Chrome got to his feet (at last) and said, “I just need your help for, like, two seconds. It won’t cost you anything.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

 _Just ask about the fraternity so we can get out of here_ , Senku thought.

“I just need Ruri’s number,” Chrome said, and Senku slapped a hand over his face. He had _one job_ , and by God, did he fuck it up.

Kohaku looked two seconds away from rupturing a blood vessel. “I am _not_ just _giving you_ Ruri’s _number!_ ”

“What? Why not?” he said, and Senku wanted to scream. Instead, he donned an impassive look as he covered his mouth and watched from the sidelines.

“Do you _seriously_ want me to answer that? And why don’t you ask her yourself?”

“I got nervous.”

“ _Nervous?_ Since _when_?”

“What do you mean, ‘ _since when_ ’? Did we—Did we experience different childhoods or something? I distinctly remember you calling me a coward _in elementary school_. What toddler even uses that as an insult?”

“A fucking _smart one_.”

“That’s because you read Twilight in fifth grade! Where did you even get your hands on that anyway—”

“I got it off of your mom’s shelf, in case you forgot!”

“Was that supposed to be a ‘yo-mama’ joke or—”

“God, you’re so annoying. I can’t believe I ever—”

“Look, I’m not gonna act like this is normal or whatever—”

“Good!”

“Fine!”

“ _Whatever_.”

Chrome pouted, scratching at his hair. Kohaku let out a huff, still seething. They both looked in opposite directions before ultimately turning back to one another when Chrome muttered towards his feet, “But I still want your help.”

Kohaku rolled her eyes.

Senku’s hand fell to his chin, fascinated. _What the fuck just happened?_ he thought, marveling at the sudden lack of hostility in the air. Where had all of that tension gone?

“Dude, look… If you can’t ask her yourself, I’m not gonna help you,” Kohaku said.

Chrome pouted again, this time looking like a goddamn puppy with his wide, glassy eyes and wild, untamed hair. Kohaku’s eye twitched.

“ _Fine_ ,” she seethed. “There’s a party on Saturday. You can come if you want, or whatever. Ruri’s gonna be there.”

Senku’s jaw dropped, hand falling to his side. Chrome sprung up with a victorious yelp, shrieking, “Great! And—wait, could I get three extras?”

“I don’t give a shit,” Kohaku said, and Chrome thrust his fists in the air. “You’re such an idiot. I’ll see you later.”

“‘Kay! Bye!” Chrome said as she walked off, tugging her equipment bag tighter. “You’re the best, Kohaku!” She raised a dismissive hand without looking and it turned into the middle finger.

When she was gone, Senku couldn’t help but be impressed. Not only had Chrome succeeded in getting them invited, but somehow managed to get Kohaku to be the one to come up with the idea. Not only that, but there were leaps and bounds to their argument that were near impossible for Senku to navigate.

 _Gen would have a better idea on how to translate all of that_ , Senku thought as Chrome spun around to him, beaming ear-to-ear.

“Told you it’d work,” he said.

“Yeah, proved me wrong,” Senku sighed. He rose an eyebrow at Chrome, who was halfway into another victory dance. “What happened with you and Kohaku? Why was she so pissed at you?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Chrome sighed, just as dismissive as Kohaku flipping them off on her way out. “She asked me out senior year of high school. I said no and we haven’t talked since.”

Before Senku could properly lay out all the new ways he realized Chrome fucked up just then, Chrome was already heading for the exit, saying, “I’m hungry! Wanna get smoothies on the way back?”


End file.
